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Anyone ever consider restructuring APS in a military school and/or boarding school style setting? There are tons of boarding schools in England. Why not take the kid away from the bad parents and nurture him or her in a positive learning environment? I know military structure is excellent for kids. Just look at how well-behaved most of our military men and women are. I think that would straighten schools, parents, and especially students up really quick. Not only that, but it may better prepare the kids for going away from mommy and daddy when they get to college.

In the scope of human history when it comes to education, the notion of kids living at home with their parents to attend school is a recent development and a novelty. I think it's still too early to tell overall which is a better system, all else being equal.

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If I were the 'King of New Mexico', I would install mandatory uniforms for each public school; have students participate in a mandatory extra-curricular activity, such as band, sports, chess club, DECA, etc.;

So, are these, like, pass/fail, or.. are they graded.. or.. can kids just ditch them anyway? Some kids just don't wanna do anything but text on their phone or play PS3.

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give out vouchers to cut taxes

You'll have to explain the math on that one to me.

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force everyone at APS from the top on down to compete fairly and educate our kids or face consequences;

Where do you draw the line on fairly, and what consequences? Come on King, the devil's in the details.

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lastly, I would re-install corporal punishment for kids that misbehave.

Shouldn't teachers be trained on how to corporally punish children? I trust a teacher not to go too far and break Johnny's fingers with the ruler less than I trust Johnny to need discipline.

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(yammering about how in my day it was paradise but now it's hell, and that's somehow somebody else's fault)
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Kids NEED discipline and direction, and they need to have a moral code of right and wrong installed in them at an early age.

They do that in North Korea. And in China. (?)

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Our state and country is full of people with absolutely no singular direction in life.

That's what makes us great. Think of how many Fortune 500 people didn't graduate college. Think of how many jobs they created. Now think what would have happened if they all finished college.

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And that is sad, and is probably why we are lagging behind the rest of the world when we used to dominate and lead the world in nearly every category known to man.

Are you British? Let's see some statistics to back up those ridiculous claims.

Support. I'd rather send my child to a high performing district... That will be this one.
I also believe West mesa will soon become a performing school, it won't be like cibola or volcano but it will meet the standards.

Uhhh.... tell me again about your government control concerns?????????

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Originally Posted by abgofet

for those parents who simply can not homeschool their children, then require them to pay for private education for their children.

Uhhh... tell me again about how forcing parents to send their kids to private
schools is going to ease my annual educational costs?????????

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Originally Posted by abgofet

Without the need for pouring their taxes into a cause for wiich there would be no return, they could then use those funds to pay towards their childs private education. These private institutions would then be held highly accountable to those who pay into them.

Uhhh... tell me again how "private schools" paid for and overseen by the government
are not public schools?????????

We need to set high standards and stick to them. We must stop social promotion. There are millions of people who are below average in intelligence who are still productive members of society. There is a place for everyone. Spending tens of thousands per pupil in an attempt to prepare them for college is a poor use of resources. Spend those funds training them in a trade or occupation which they can perform.

I know a mechanic who can't spell and is horrible at math. He can fix anything with an engine or gears. He could never pass an engineering class but can tell you about horsepower increases from boring over an engine. Not everyone thinks the same way.

We need to set high standards and stick to them. We must stop social promotion. There are millions of people who are below average in intelligence who are still productive members of society. There is a place for everyone. Spending tens of thousands per pupil in an attempt to prepare them for college is a poor use of resources. Spend those funds training them in a trade or occupation which they can perform.

First let's make sure that the "academic path" is actually functional.

APS is a tenacious bureaucratic monster. Built by years of political greed and expedience. And change is needed. But,I vote no for a new west side district. Right now Dan Serrano, Laura Horton, Robert Lucero and the rest of PASS are vigeriosly pushing for this new district. They claim they have the money to run this district and so we will not see an increase in taxes. And they want me to back this. But, they have put forth NO PLAN. They are going to run the new district more like a business, so I look at this as an investor. No business person would invest in something that has No Visable, or Viable Working Plan.
Questions -
What would the new attendance districts be for the school on the westside?
The proposed boundary has West Mesa divided and therefor under used.
And what about all the mid-schoolers from Taylor which will now be shifted into Monroe,
and filling it back up.
Who is going to have to move from where they go now?
Is Taylor Ranch going to take a chance on having to shift South again and return to West
Mesa? Not Hardley.
Are some students in Paradise Knolls going to be shifted to LBJ?

Last edited by SkyFlame; 01-24-2010 at 10:13 PM..
Reason: words left out

More Questions-
How many school board members do they anticipate having?
What are some of the possible board districts?
Where are they going to possibly have their central office?
M&O in APS is a specialized nightmare, how are they going to organize for maintenece and repair of westside schools?
What is going to be the cost of equiping an entire maintanaence department?
What will the cost be for tech support for our schools? The cost to transfer ownership of programs and software.
What about food? APS operates with a central kitchen and warmer in all the schools.
What is it going to cost to set up our own central kitchen, or redo the schools so they can cook on site or contract with APS for food?
What about the cost of specialzed care for the Special Ed students?
Special Ed is a bureaucracy in itself.
Transportation cost?
What is the projected cost of out of district transportation?
FYI - that means anytime a school bus leaves the district cost goes up about 60%.
Every sports team going across the river for a game, every band, orchestra, chorus, or drams group heading for state competitions at UNM and every elementary school field trip to the Zoo etc.
That is a lot of money.
What is the plan?
What is the proposed budget for the first let's say 3 years?
How can you possibly believe someone who tells you not to worry we can afford a new district without any business plan?
All this Pie in the Sky from PASS could end up being Sinking in Quicksand problem.

It appears the current NM Sec. of Education has weaseled out (http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1587946.shtml?cat=515 - broken link) of actually making a decision regarding the creation of a new Westside School District.

I seriously hope this issue is prominently featured during the race for Governor.

That is part of the reason why I sent my children to private schools, and not the crazy winston brook run schools.

Yes, on the west side district!
They should let them vote on it.....

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